The best women in the science

We won’t investigate if the gender equality has been reached in every sector or if there are still gender discriminations.

We won’t remember how difficult it was the life of that women of yore that often, only because able to manage the science, were pointed as witches neither.

About how many women were dressed like men to give them support to the evolution or about how long and exhausting were the fights that brought to the rights obtaining.

If she was the first gratuated woman or the last, the first scientists or chemist, what matters is how they supported to arrive until today and how they are still supporting.

In a world that was strictly male for long, long, time, the 11 February, just two days ago, were celebrated the women in the science!

The women in the science day

The day was declared by the United Nations and sponsored by the UNESCO to encourage and to remember the ones that were and that will be the best women in the science.

Unfortunally the numbers say that, even in the science‘s world, there are still prejudices and unjustified stereotypes, even though the efforts of the last years for a higher equality.

Between all the scientists of the world, infact, only less then the 30% are women.

For the occasion were organised events all over the world and Audrey Azoulay, general director of the UNESCO, released a message of encouragement: “We are determined to encourage a new generation of women and girl scientists to tackle the major challanges of our time. 

By harnessing the creativity and innovation of all women and girls in science and properly investing in inclusive STEM education, research and development and science, technology and innovation ecosystem, we have an unprecedented opportunity to leverage the potential of the fourth industrial revolution to benefit society”.

They support the scientifical development for centuries, even though the difficulties. Which are and which were the bestwomen in the science?

Marie Curie

We can just mention as first one of the most important women in the science: Marie Curie.

Polish, born in the 1867, she graduated in the Sorbona of Paris in Physics and Math, the same university where, few years later, she became the first woman professor.

She was even the first one to discover the polonium and the radium and to introduce in the scientific community a word still unknown: radioactivity.

She won two Nobel awards: one in the 1903 for the Physics and one in the 1911 for the Chemistry. She died in the 1934 of aplastic anemia, caused by the long exposition to radiations. She is still the only woman to have won two Nobels in two different areas.

“Physics is a really beautiful thing” – Marie Curie

Emmy Noether

Maybe is better that to tell about who was Emmy Noether are the words with which, when she died, she was remembered by Albert Einstein: “Only one, at the end, is the person of which I hold an exceptional regard; she is a glorious mathematicians.

She was an amazing mind, and she’s death. Emmy was the most significant creative mathematical genius since the higher education of women began”.

Rosalind Franklin

What the DNA is, the deoxyribonucleic acid which contains our genetical informations? None known it before the ’30, when Rosalind Franklin made the discovery possible thanks to the X ray images of the same DNA.

By the way the merit goes to who as second saw those images: Watson and Crick, which admitted that the discovery was of Rosalind.

But she believed that the scientifical discovery was of all and she didn’t seem suffered by the event.

Lise Meitner

The scientist Lise Meitner was renamed the mother of the atomic bomb, even though her efforts were due to a paecefull usage of the nuclear and not to a destructive one.

Even though her importance in the discovery of the nuclear fission, when Otto Hahn received the Nobel he didn’t mention her at all.

Hedy Lamarr

Lamarr was a hollywood star of the firsts of ‘900 mostly remembered for her scandals, that at that time were unacceptable.

The first all nude of the cinema’s history was hers, she had six husbands and many lovers, but she might be not remembered for this, but for the huge support that she gave to the science.

Hedy didn’t only have a nice body, but even a beautiful mind. If today we can communicate with wireless technology we owe to her.

After decades during which she was remembered only for her scandals finally, in the 1997, when she was already more than 80, she received the Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award, for the support given to the science.

Her answer was frozen: “It’s about time”.

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